Naturally I was pretty excited that Sound Tribe Sector 9 would be performing at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, TN this year for Halloween. I have heard some of their previous Halloween shows and knew this was a show I could not miss. After all, most of the bands I really enjoy come through Nashville maybe once a year, and I never expected to get a killer Halloween show like this in Music City. Upon arriving to the War Memorial I had felt quite underdressed. Being the party pooper that I am, I was one of very few people not dressed up for the occasion. The bar and bathroom line chatter was filled with jokes and puns paying homage to one another’s costume. The energy from Halloween was truly in the air that night, both inside and outside the venue. Having been the first show I’ve seen with Alana Rocklin on bass I was a little sceptical as to how the band would sound. It seemed like Murph played such an important role in Sound Tribe, so naturally his absence was going to alter the show to some degree. I had purposely avoided listening to any of their shows earlier in the year so that I could witness this in person, and boy am I glad I held off for so long. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwdZHLRrHIk As the members took the stage one at a time I had noticed them all wearing the same strange helmet. Each helmet was a reflective disco ball, and with lights strategically placed directly onto them the band could sort of conduct the light show with each slight movement. They had worn the helmets for about ten minutes before taking them off and placing them onto mic stands where the lights could again strategically hit each reflective helmet to accent the music they were playing. Sound Tribe’s shows have always puts me in a sort of spaced out trance, this concert being no exception. However, one thing stood out like a sore thumb. For the first time I’ve ever seen Sound Tribe it appeared as though the band was one. One in the sense that there was no front man, there was nobody telling the audience to get excited or anything like that. It was just five excellent musicians playing their heart out for the crowd. Nobody seemed to be more important than the other and they each contributed an equal amount to the over all sound. Alana’s playing had complimented their original tracks quite nicely and offered a unique quality that I haven’t heard in Sound Tribe before. They had absolutely nailed Parliament’s “Mothership Connection” as well as “Family Affair” by Sly & The Family Stone. But when they came out for The Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street” for their encore things really got intense. It might be cliche to say, but that song brings out the best in concert goers. If people weren’t out of their seats before those opening notes they sure as shit were flying by the end of the show.
Set One: Family Affair > When The Dust Settles, Gobnugget > Monkey Music, Mothership Connection(*), Wika Chikana, Oil & Water, Mobsters > Nautilus > Aimlessly
Set Two: Still Blastin’ 2028 Live Edit (Sub-ID) > Four Year Puma, Frequencies Peace 2 > 3, Dance > Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off) > Dance > Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off) > Dance, Crystal Instrument, Totem, World Go Round, Ramone & Emiglio
Encore: Shakedown Street
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